Goodreads helps you follow your favorite authors. Be the first to learn about new releases!
Start by following Shane MacGowan.
Showing 1-30 of 38
“People are talking about immigration, emigration and the rest of the fucking thing. It's all fucking crap. We're all human beings, we're all mammals, we're all rocks, plants, rivers. Fucking borders are just such a pain in the fucking arse.”
―
―
“Now you'll sing a song of liberty for blacks and Paks and Jocks
And they'll take you from this dump you're in and stick you in a box
Then they'll take you to Cloughprior and shove you in the ground
But you'll stick your head back out and shout "We'll have another round!”
― Poguetry
And they'll take you from this dump you're in and stick you in a box
Then they'll take you to Cloughprior and shove you in the ground
But you'll stick your head back out and shout "We'll have another round!”
― Poguetry
“I'm not singing for the future
I'm not dreaming of the past
I'm not talking of the fist time
I never think about the last”
―
I'm not dreaming of the past
I'm not talking of the fist time
I never think about the last”
―
“There were six men in Birmingham
In Guildford there's four
That were picked up and tortured
And framed by the law
And the filth got promotion
But they're still doing time
For being Irish in the wrong place
And at the wrong time
In Ireland they'll put you away in the Maze
In England they'll keep you for seven long days
God help you if ever you're caught on these shores
The coppers need someone
When they walk through that door
You'll be counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a lonely hell
Round the yard and a stinking cell
From wall to wall, and back again
A curse on the judges, the coppers and screws
Who tortured the innocent, wrongly accused
For the price of promotion
And justice to sell
May the judged be their judges when they rot down in hell”
―
In Guildford there's four
That were picked up and tortured
And framed by the law
And the filth got promotion
But they're still doing time
For being Irish in the wrong place
And at the wrong time
In Ireland they'll put you away in the Maze
In England they'll keep you for seven long days
God help you if ever you're caught on these shores
The coppers need someone
When they walk through that door
You'll be counting years
First five, then ten
Growing old in a lonely hell
Round the yard and a stinking cell
From wall to wall, and back again
A curse on the judges, the coppers and screws
Who tortured the innocent, wrongly accused
For the price of promotion
And justice to sell
May the judged be their judges when they rot down in hell”
―
“Now the song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
Still there's a light I hold before me
You're the measure of my dreams”
― Poguetry
We may never find out what it means
Still there's a light I hold before me
You're the measure of my dreams”
― Poguetry
“When the cold winds come and find you
Blowing down from the top of the high rise
I'll come and take you back down to Soho
Away from all those madmen's eyes”
―
Blowing down from the top of the high rise
I'll come and take you back down to Soho
Away from all those madmen's eyes”
―
“McCormack and Richard Tauber are singing by the bed
There's a glass of punch below your feet and an angel at your head
There's devils on each side of you with bottles in their hands
You need one more drop of poison and you'll dream of foreign lands
When you pissed yourself in Frankfurt and got syph down in Cologne
And you heard the rattling death trains as you lay there all alone
Frank Ryan brought you whiskey in a brothel in Madrid
And you decked some fucking blackshirt who was cursing all the Yids
At the sick bed of Cuchulainn we'll kneel and say a prayer
And the ghosts are rattling at the door and the Devil's in the chair
And in the Euston tavern you screamed it was your shout
But they wouldn't give you service so you kicked the windows out
They took you out into the street and kicked you in the brains
So you walked back in through a bolted door and did it all again
At the sick bed of Cuchulainn we'll kneel and say a prayer
And the ghosts are rattling at the door and the Devil's in the chair
You remember that foul evening when you heard the banshees howl
There was lousy drunken bastards singing Billy in the Bowl
They took you up to midnight mass and left you in the lurch
So you dropped a button in the plate and spewed up in the church
Now you'll sing a song of liberty for blacks and Paks and Jocks
And they'll take you from this dump you're in and stick you in a box
Then they'll take you to Cloughprior and shove you in the ground
But you'll stick your head back out and shout "We'll have another round"
At the gravesite of Cuchulainn we'll kneel around and pray
And God is in his heaven, and Billy's down by the bay
"The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn”
―
There's a glass of punch below your feet and an angel at your head
There's devils on each side of you with bottles in their hands
You need one more drop of poison and you'll dream of foreign lands
When you pissed yourself in Frankfurt and got syph down in Cologne
And you heard the rattling death trains as you lay there all alone
Frank Ryan brought you whiskey in a brothel in Madrid
And you decked some fucking blackshirt who was cursing all the Yids
At the sick bed of Cuchulainn we'll kneel and say a prayer
And the ghosts are rattling at the door and the Devil's in the chair
And in the Euston tavern you screamed it was your shout
But they wouldn't give you service so you kicked the windows out
They took you out into the street and kicked you in the brains
So you walked back in through a bolted door and did it all again
At the sick bed of Cuchulainn we'll kneel and say a prayer
And the ghosts are rattling at the door and the Devil's in the chair
You remember that foul evening when you heard the banshees howl
There was lousy drunken bastards singing Billy in the Bowl
They took you up to midnight mass and left you in the lurch
So you dropped a button in the plate and spewed up in the church
Now you'll sing a song of liberty for blacks and Paks and Jocks
And they'll take you from this dump you're in and stick you in a box
Then they'll take you to Cloughprior and shove you in the ground
But you'll stick your head back out and shout "We'll have another round"
At the gravesite of Cuchulainn we'll kneel around and pray
And God is in his heaven, and Billy's down by the bay
"The Sick Bed of Cuchulainn”
―
“For its stupid to laugh and its useless to bawl
About a rusty tin can and an old hurley ball
”
―
About a rusty tin can and an old hurley ball
”
―
“But he never threw a fight when the fight was right
So they sent him to the war”
―
So they sent him to the war”
―
“This town has done us dirty
This town has bled us dry
We've been here for a long time
And we'll be here 'til we die
So we'll finish off the leavings
Of blood and glue and beer
And burn this bloody city down
In the summer of the year”
―
This town has bled us dry
We've been here for a long time
And we'll be here 'til we die
So we'll finish off the leavings
Of blood and glue and beer
And burn this bloody city down
In the summer of the year”
―
“I've been loving you a long time
Down all the years, down all the days
And I've cried for all your troubles
Smiled at your funny little ways”
―
Down all the years, down all the days
And I've cried for all your troubles
Smiled at your funny little ways”
―
“Fuck the Yanks
And drink their wives
My mind is clear
The sky is bright
I'm happy as a horse's shite
Up came the Bottle of Smoke”
―
And drink their wives
My mind is clear
The sky is bright
I'm happy as a horse's shite
Up came the Bottle of Smoke”
―
“So I walked as day was dawning
Where small birds sang and leaves were falling
Where we once watched the row boats landing
On the broad majestic Shannon”
―
Where small birds sang and leaves were falling
Where we once watched the row boats landing
On the broad majestic Shannon”
―
“Thanks and praises
Thanks to Jesus
I bet on the Bottle of Smoke
I went through hell
And to the races
To bet on the Bottle of Smoke
The day being clear
The sky being bright
He came up on the left
Like a streak of light
Like a drunken fuck
On a Saturday night
Up came the Bottle of Smoke
Twenty fucking five to one
Me gambling days are done
I bet on a horse called the Bottle of Smoke
And my horse won”
―
Thanks to Jesus
I bet on the Bottle of Smoke
I went through hell
And to the races
To bet on the Bottle of Smoke
The day being clear
The sky being bright
He came up on the left
Like a streak of light
Like a drunken fuck
On a Saturday night
Up came the Bottle of Smoke
Twenty fucking five to one
Me gambling days are done
I bet on a horse called the Bottle of Smoke
And my horse won”
―
“I've been spat on and shat on
And raped and abused.”
―
And raped and abused.”
―
“A hungry sound came across the breeze
So I gave the walls a talking.”
―
So I gave the walls a talking.”
―
“Something that's obvious to a lot of people but it's never said much on the television or anything, that the architects and planners and whatever in London are inhuman to a really disgusting extent.”
―
―
“Billy ran around with a rare old crew
And he knew an Arsenal from Tottenham blue
We'd be a darn sight better off if we knew
Where Billy's bones are resting now
Billy saw a copper and he hit him in the knee
And he took him down from six to five foot three
Then he hit him fair and square in the do-re-mi
That copper won't be having any family
Hey Billy son where are you now?
Don't you know that we need you now?
With a rat-tat-tat and the old kowtow
Where are Billy's bones resting now?
Billy went away with a peace-keeping force
'Cause he liked a bloody good fight, of course
Went away in an old khaki van
To the banks of the River Jordan
Billy saw the Arabs and he had 'em on the run
When he got 'em in the range of his sub-machine gun
Then he had the Israelis in his sights, went a rat-tat-tat
And they ran like shites
Hey Billy son where are you now?
Don't you know that we need you now?
With a rat-tat-tat and the old kowtow
Where are Billy's bones resting now?
One night Billy had a rare old time,
Laughing and singing on the Lebanon line
Came back to camp not looking too pretty
Never even got to see the holy city
Now Billy's out there in the desert sun
And his mother cries when the morning comes
And there's mothers crying all over this world
For their poor dead darling boys and girls
Hey Billy son where are you now?
Don't you know that we need you now?
With a rat-tat-tat and the old kowtow
Where are Billy's bones resting now?
Have a Billy holiday…
Born on a Monday
Married on a Tuesday
Drunk on a Wednesday
Got plugged on a Thursday
Sick on a Friday
Died on a Saturday
Buried on a Sunday.
"Billy's Bones”
― Poguetry
And he knew an Arsenal from Tottenham blue
We'd be a darn sight better off if we knew
Where Billy's bones are resting now
Billy saw a copper and he hit him in the knee
And he took him down from six to five foot three
Then he hit him fair and square in the do-re-mi
That copper won't be having any family
Hey Billy son where are you now?
Don't you know that we need you now?
With a rat-tat-tat and the old kowtow
Where are Billy's bones resting now?
Billy went away with a peace-keeping force
'Cause he liked a bloody good fight, of course
Went away in an old khaki van
To the banks of the River Jordan
Billy saw the Arabs and he had 'em on the run
When he got 'em in the range of his sub-machine gun
Then he had the Israelis in his sights, went a rat-tat-tat
And they ran like shites
Hey Billy son where are you now?
Don't you know that we need you now?
With a rat-tat-tat and the old kowtow
Where are Billy's bones resting now?
One night Billy had a rare old time,
Laughing and singing on the Lebanon line
Came back to camp not looking too pretty
Never even got to see the holy city
Now Billy's out there in the desert sun
And his mother cries when the morning comes
And there's mothers crying all over this world
For their poor dead darling boys and girls
Hey Billy son where are you now?
Don't you know that we need you now?
With a rat-tat-tat and the old kowtow
Where are Billy's bones resting now?
Have a Billy holiday…
Born on a Monday
Married on a Tuesday
Drunk on a Wednesday
Got plugged on a Thursday
Sick on a Friday
Died on a Saturday
Buried on a Sunday.
"Billy's Bones”
― Poguetry
“A devil moon took me through the alley
Down by the Kardomah and the Centrale
To the mews running through the backstreets
Where the Blacks sell fire and sleep
The devil moon took me out of Soho
Up to Camden where the cold north winds blow
Sucked along by a winter shower
To stand beside your shining tower”
―
Down by the Kardomah and the Centrale
To the mews running through the backstreets
Where the Blacks sell fire and sleep
The devil moon took me out of Soho
Up to Camden where the cold north winds blow
Sucked along by a winter shower
To stand beside your shining tower”
―
“... there is more to life than there appears to be with the five senses, and logic does not get you anywhere except the atom bomb.”
― A Drink With Shane MacGowan
― A Drink With Shane MacGowan
“Fucked Up
Set up
Faced up
Jacked up
Sitting there in chokey
14 years old
No lock on the door
But no way out
No joking
No hoping
No nothing
Pinned Down.”
―
Set up
Faced up
Jacked up
Sitting there in chokey
14 years old
No lock on the door
But no way out
No joking
No hoping
No nothing
Pinned Down.”
―
“I sat on the floor and watched TV
Thanking Christ for the BBC
A stupid fucking place to be
Down Rain Street”
―
Thanking Christ for the BBC
A stupid fucking place to be
Down Rain Street”
―
“Hear the rebels' voices calling
'I shall not die, though you bury me!'
from 'Aisling”
―
'I shall not die, though you bury me!'
from 'Aisling”
―
“I can type with me toes
Suck stout through me nose
And where it's gonna end
God only knows”
―
Suck stout through me nose
And where it's gonna end
God only knows”
―
“His mother told him never to have children till he was rich. He was rich, he made millions with the Pogues, but he says now he's spent it all. 'If you hug money, you clog up the cash flow, know what I mean?”
―
―
“Sometimes I wake up in the morning
The ginger lady by my bed
Covered in a cloak of silence
I hear you talking in my head”
―
The ginger lady by my bed
Covered in a cloak of silence
I hear you talking in my head”
―
“We watched our friends grow up together
And we saw them as they fell
Some of them fell into Heaven
Some of them fell into Hell”
― Poguetry
And we saw them as they fell
Some of them fell into Heaven
Some of them fell into Hell”
― Poguetry
“Oh the torn up ticket stubs
From a hundred thousand mugs
Now washed away with dead dreams in the rain
And the carparks going up
And they're pulling down the pubs
And its just another bloody rainy day”
―
From a hundred thousand mugs
Now washed away with dead dreams in the rain
And the carparks going up
And they're pulling down the pubs
And its just another bloody rainy day”
―
“Dehydration
Humiliation
Degradation
Mind castration
And the sky is black
And the one next to you
Keeps thinking that they're having a heart attack.
Desolation
On medication
Nurse nurse nurse
Can't sleep easy
Nurse nurse nurse
Are you fucking with me
ECT fucking did a thing on me
ECT did a job on me
ECT did a job on me
ECT did a job on me.
Pinned Down
Pinned Down.”
―
Humiliation
Degradation
Mind castration
And the sky is black
And the one next to you
Keeps thinking that they're having a heart attack.
Desolation
On medication
Nurse nurse nurse
Can't sleep easy
Nurse nurse nurse
Are you fucking with me
ECT fucking did a thing on me
ECT did a job on me
ECT did a job on me
ECT did a job on me.
Pinned Down
Pinned Down.”
―
“I looked at him, he looked at me,
All I could do was hate him.
from "A Pair of Brown Eyes”
―
All I could do was hate him.
from "A Pair of Brown Eyes”
―
![A Drink with Shane Macgowan[ A DRINK WITH SHANE MACGOWAN ] by Macgowan, Shane (Author) May-08-01[ Paperback ]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1684749961l/158624591._SX98_.jpg "A Drink with Shane Macgowan[ A DRINK WITH SHANE MACGOWAN ] by Macgowan, Shane (Author) May-08-01[ Paperback ]")
